


The Long Way Home

by Ariella1941



Series: In The Shadow of Empires [17]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Character Study, F/M, POV First Person, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 03:43:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9217088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariella1941/pseuds/Ariella1941
Summary: Aryelle, Theron and the Alliance inner circle find themselves trapped on the abandoned world of Iokath, birthplace of Scorpio, the Gemini Droids and the Eternal Fleet.





	1. Out of the Frying Pan

_Theron Shan_

There are days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed, and this… this was one of them.

The light, or whatever it was, hit as Lana and I were finishing repairs on the _Gravestone’s_ life support systems. Koth had managed to defuse his little doomsday weapon before it blew us and half the Alliance fleet to kingdom come, but there were still Vaylin’s stow-a-ways aboard. And they were trying to sabotage every major system they could get their hands on.

Not that it mattered in the end.

* * *

 

As soon as I woke up and managed to get on my feet I took inventory. I still had my weapons, and all my implants were on-line and functioning normally, except for my com. And there was no sign of Lana, or anyone for that matter. But I didn’t really have time to think about it as several droids decided to take an unhealthy interest in me.

“We preserve… We cleanse…”

_That doesn’t sound good._

I opened up on the droids as soon as I had range on them, and fortunately for me, they didn’t seem to be designed to cleanse anything that could fight back.  Once they were reduced to scrap I tried to salvage what I could from the wreckage.

I managed to find a couple of components that might help break through whatever had coms off-line, but I needed a safe place to work, and that wasn’t _here._ I stowed the components, and headed off in the direction of what looked like a large monument or temple or something. If I could secure it, maybe I could get through to the others.

* * *

 

_Come on… work you piece of…._

Before I could finish cursing I heard the connection tone, and the holo brought up the image of Aryelle Thrace.

“You never write, you never holo. Was it something I said?” I teased as she gave me a relieved smile.

“Definitely not,” she replied, “my com’s been off-line. How did you get a signal through?”

“Dumb luck and smart tech,” I told her, “Are you having the same creepy day I am? Knocked out by a bright light on the _Gravestone_ , woke up alone on this weird planet?”

She laughed, “I hate it when we take separate vacations. A holo call just isn’t enough.”

“No, it’s not, so let’s fix that,” I replied as I saw Torian appear behind her. I nodded to the Mandalorian, grateful that Aryelle wasn’t alone out there. “I found a museum… temple… I don’t know, but it’s secure. I’m sending you the coordinates.”

“Best news I’ve heard all day,” Aryelle said happily. “Find the others and tell them where to meet us.”

“Already on it,” I said, “You and Torian be careful out there. Smart bet is that if we’re here, Vaylin is too.”

* * *

 

I whistled as soon as I saw Aryelle and Torian enter the plaza. They turned to me as I jogged over and said:

“You can’t be too careful in this neighborhood.”

Aryelle nodded. “And the others?”

“Got here safe and sound.”

She sighed in relief then looked at me, “I’m sorry you were alone for so long; I got here as fast as I could.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that and said, “People keep trying to break us up. They never learn.”

Aryelle smiled back then looked around the plaza. “If this is going to be our base of operations, we need to make sure it’s completely secure,” she said as she looked back at me. “Have you learned anything more about it?”

“It feels like some kind of monument,” I told her, “to what? I don’t know. But we’re the only ones here.”

“First things first,” Torian put in, “Let’s get this door secured.”

“I can help with that,” I replied, “I’ve also been scanning for the Gravestone, but so far no luck.”

“One step at a time,” Aryelle muttered, more to herself than to me. Louder she said, “Torian, why don’t you and Theron get with Major Jorgan and come up with the best way to secure this place.”

Torian nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”

* * *

 

I found myself wondering how anything living could have thrived in this place. I’d call it a dead world but that would’ve required it to be alive first. I’m not sure I’d even call it a ‘world’ really, since I’ve never seen a world that was literally build to encase a blue dwarf star.

The short version: we were stuck inside a _huge_ artificial construct and our only ticket out wasn’t responding to my scans. I just had to keep at it and hope for a lucky break.

Aryelle and Vette looked like they were having better luck as they talked to an informational hologram. I heard bits and pieces of the conversation, enough to confirm that Scorpio hadn’t been lying about coming from here originally.

Scorpio being completely truthful for once… There’s a first.

And while the fact somebody managed to flip the Eternal Fleet was interesting, it didn’t change the current situation.

Killer droids advancing on our position, however…

“Commander!” I yelled, catching Aryelle’s attention.

“Theron?”

“Remember how I said this place was secure?” I said, and gestured out the main door at the droids heading our way. “I may have been wrong.”

“Just a few more seconds, and we’ll have this ray shield up,” Torian called from where he was working with Jorgan and Kaylio.

That’s when the walls opened up, and even more droids spilled out.

Definitely shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning.

* * *

 

We managed to lock the place down, but if those droids couldn’t get in, we couldn’t get out either. At least until Vette opened another door.

“I was trying to get Aries back on-line when this opened up,” I heard her explain to Aryelle. “And as much as I hate to say it, or even think it, this might be Scorpio trying to help us.”

“Help us into killer droid central maybe,” Koth said as we walked over. “You really thinking about going down there, Commander?”

“It doesn’t matter if this is Scorpio’s doing or if it was just a lucky break on Vette’s part,” Aryelle told him, “we need a way out, and this looks to be our only option.” She looked at me for a moment and I nodded. I wasn’t anywhere close to happy with the idea, but we needed an out, and she’d never let someone else take the risk. “Vette, you’re with me. The rest of you, hold this position,” she said, then disappeared down the hallway with Vette in tow.


	2. Into the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aryelle, Theron and the Alliance inner circle find themselves trapped on the abandoned world of Iokath, birthplace of Scorpio, the Gemini Droids and the Eternal Fleet.

_Theron Shan_

I’d started to pace about twenty minutes after Aryelle left. I just couldn’t stay still even as I tried to scan for the _Gravestone_.

“Theron, would you please stop,” Lana said as she walked over to me, “you’re making everyone nervous.”

I glared at her. “It helps me think.”

“For an intelligence operative you’re a terrible liar,” she told me with a small smile.

“Shut up, Beniko, I’m trying to work here,” I muttered feeling annoyed that Lana had gotten to know me so well. Of course, we’d worked together on and off for six years, so it was bound to happen.

“Would it help you to know I’m concerned for her as well?”

I sighed and said, “I know you are, Lana, and I appreciate what you’re trying to do.”

“You can still sense her I assume?”

“I can sense she’s alive, and her general direction, but not much else,” I admitted, “I need physical contact to actually be able to read her.”

Before Lana could say anything else an explosion shook the room, and the tunnel Aryelle and Vette had taken collapsed.

“Help me find another way around!” I snapped as I ran to one of the walls that the droids had come through earlier.

_Dammit, Aryelle, what have you gotten yourself into_ this time?!?

* * *

 

We wound our way through the maze of tunnels beneath the monument with me in the lead. Nobody asked any questions, which told me a lot about who knew about the bond, though I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. Koth was in the room, and Kaylio and Jorgan were on the com when Aryelle went missing on Odessen, and I wasn’t exactly trying to keep secrets at that moment. The rest probably heard through the grapevine.

I know it’s hypocritical of me to resent the invasion of my privacy, but, hey, I’m only human.

“This one… she’s just beyond here, but the power’s shot.” I said as I tried to find some relays or something to power the damn door up.

“I’ve got it, Theron,” Lana said even as we heard (and felt) something crash in the next room. We looked at each other in alarm and she threw everything she had into tearing to door open.

I strode through first, guns in hand, ready for anything. Well, anything but Aryelle and Vette standing there looking at the wreck of the biggest droid I’ve ever seen. I stopped short, looked at the droid, then at Aryelle, who’d turned toward me as soon as the door exploded open.

“One of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack,” I said.

“I was on my way back, Theron,” she told me defensively.

She had me there.

“Commander, did you find anything while you were down here?” Lana asked.

“Short version: Yes,” Aryelle replied, “somewhat longer version: Aries wants us dead, Scorpio wants to remove him so she can claim Iokath, and Vaylin is trying to retake the Eternal Fleet. We need an out, and going down didn’t work.”

I stood there for a moment, then it hit me. I’d been so fixated on finding the _Gravestone_ that I’d forgotten there was another option.

“If we can’t go down,” I said as I began to adjust the scan frequency, “then we go up.”

Lana looked at me, “I realize there is a landing pad on the roof, but we’ve no _Gravestone_ to land on it.”

“ _Gravestone’s_ not the only Alliance ship on Iokath,” I replied. “My shuttle’s in the hanger bay.”

“Not that it matters,” Torian said, “since we don’t know where it is either.”

“But I haven’t been scanning for it,” I replied, “If I can establish a connection I might be able to take command remotely.”

Aryelle’s eyes lit up. “That’s _brilliant_ , Theron!”

“It’s brilliant if it works,” I cautioned.

“Even if we can get the shuttle here, we’ll never be able to get aboard,” Lana said, “those droids outside will cut us down.”

“What about the big guy here?” Vette asked, “he’s mostly intact, and the droids would never suspect anything until he stomped them flat.”

“I like it,” Aryelle replied, “we send the droid to attack while we hit the roof. I think we’ve got ourselves a plan.”

“Hell, I’m sold,” I said as I activated the scan. “Fingers crossed.”

“It’ll work,” Aryelle said then looked at the others, “and speaking of work, we should probably start putting our friend back together so we have something to send against the horde outside.”

* * *

 

“Contact!” I called over the noise of the droid repairs. Aryelle and Lana strode over to me. “I’m running a pre-flight check,” I told them the smiled. “We’re in business, but the signal’s damned weak. I need to be on the roof to boost the connection.”

“Well, the droid’s ready,” Aryelle said answering my smile with her own.

“Except for the fact that his logic circuits are fried,” Vette yelled from the top of the thing. “Someone’s going to have to control this thing from the inside.”

Aryelle’s smile turned into a grin, and as she began climbing up into the droid’s control, I bit back a groan. She was going to do this whether I liked it or not.

_Dammit Aryelle, be_ careful _!_ I thought at her, and she turned to look down at me from the droid’s shoulder. Her grin faded and she nodded at me, then slipped inside.

_Well that’s new…_

“Are you sure you want to fight them alone?” Lana asked as she established com contact, and Aryelle just laughed.

“Are you kidding? This is better than a Walker, Lana,” she said, “and the whole point is to keep as many of us out of the line of fire as possible, remember?”

Lana sighed, “You’re right of course.”

“You better move out,” Aryelle told us, “I don’t want you to get caught in the debris I’m about to kick up.”

We were half way out the exit when I turned to watch the droid blast through the old fashion glass dome above.

“Come on, Theron, she’ll be fine,” Lana told me taking my arm.

“She’s taking too many risks lately,” I muttered to no one in particular, and Lana laughed.

“Have you considered it might be the company she’s keeping?”

“Who? Me?” I looked at her in horror as I realized I was sounding like my former boss at the SIS.

She just laughed again and guided me up the stairs to the rooftop landing pad.

* * *

 

“How’s the view from up there?” Aryelle asked over the com.

“Rooftop’s quiet, wish you were here,” I replied, “but the shuttle’s on its way.”

“Good, because I’m looking at a really target rich environment right now.”

I sighed. Lana was right; that sounded like something I would have said.

“Enemy incoming!” Jorgan yelled as a squad of droids appeared at the door to the roof. “Weapons hot!”

“So much for a quiet rooftop,” I muttered and focused on flying the damn shuttle as the rest of the team engaged the enemy.

“Theron, if you’re flying the scenic route…” Lana yelled.

“Keep your robe on, Beniko,” I told her, “Unless you want to do this? Didn’t think so.”

The others cleared the door as Jorgan rolled a couple of plasma grenades down the stairwell.

“Shuttle ETA twenty seconds,” I shouted at the others then switched to my com, “time to go, Aryelle!”

“Going to take a little bit to disengage, Theron.”

“I’m not leaving without you!”

Even as I said the words, the oversized droid shot into the air. I saw Aryelle leap to the roof as the thing exploded about two hundred meters overhead. She hit the roof in a roll, and as I ran over to her, she started to favor her left leg. I slipped an arm around her waist to help her balance and half carried her to the shuttle.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said.

“You’re here, that’s what matters,” I replied as we got up the ramp. “Lana, I need you to take a look at the Commander!”

“I’m fine,” she told me as I settled her down in one of the passenger seats. I glared at her and she wilted a little. “Okay, I may have injured my ankle.”

“It’ll be fine, Commander. I’ll see to it,” Lana reassured her, but the glance she shot me said volumes.

_I hate it when she’s right._

I settled into the pilot’s seat and plotted the shuttle’s course back to the _Gravestone_ using the nav information I’d collected during the flight.

“Now that’s what I call an escape,” I said as I locked the course into the nav-computer.

“We’re not the only ones trying to escape,” Koth said as he worked the sensors from the co-pilot’s seat. “We’re picking up another ship… It’s Scorpio’s transport.”

“Is it following us?” I asked, as I gripped the throttle.

“It’s leaving,” he said, bringing up the HUD for the shuttle’s weapons.

“That makes no sense,” Aryelle replied, “she wants to stay here. This is home, or would be if Aries wasn’t trying to kill her.”

“Incoming transmission,” Jorgan cut in and punched up the holo.

“Before you go any farther: observe,” Scorpio said from the com, and we watched as the transport impacted against something we couldn’t see.

Aryelle waved Lana away then pushed herself up and walked over to the holo, “What was that?”

“It seems there’s a massive energy shield surrounding Iokath,” Lana said as she checked the sensors over Koth’s shoulder, “nothing can pass through it.”

“And Aries controls the shield,” Scorpio added.

“Then he’s the key to shutting it down,” Aryelle said, “so let’s find him.”

Lana shook her head as Scorpio’s image disappear, “He found us.”

“Your struggles proved invaluable design feedback, but they do not change my decision,” Aries said from the holo. “You are not worthy of inheriting Iokath, and soon you will die.”

“You keep promising that, but we’re still here,” Aryelle replied. “Give it _up_ already.”

“Like you, my creators were flawed beings, but they left a great legacy at my disposal. A legacy that must not fall into the wrong hands,” Aries said, ignoring the out Aryelle had given him.

_This is not going to end well for you, buddy._

“The weapon I used to incapacitate you is re-energizing as we speak.”

_Or maybe I’m wrong…_

“The energy wave that knocked us unconscious,” Lana murmured. “We have no defense against it.”

Aries nodded, “No you do not, and when it fires this time, you will not wake up. If you have any affection for your surviving…”

“I have identified a design flaw in Aries,” Scorpio said as she replaced him on the holo. “He talks too much, and has revealed his location. We no longer require his input.”

I watch a new set of numbers scroll across the screen. “She’s transmitting coordinates.”

“Then set a course, Theron,” Aryelle said, “it’s time we paid him a visit.”

“I always enjoy our collaborations,” Scorpio commented and disappeared.

“We’re just going to take her word for it?” Koth asked. “I mean she’s the reason we’re in this mess, and she’s got to be playing us. Tell me we’re going to melt her down before we leave?”

“Scorpio thinks of this place as home,” Aryelle told him. “She wants to stay here, possibly forever.”

“Sooner or later she’ll want to leave,” Lana put in, “you need to stop her permanently.”

“Let’s get rid of Aries first or _we’re_ never going to leave,” Aryelle said as she began checking her gear. “Vette, Torian, with me.”

* * *

 

I opened a com channel to Aryelle as the Gravestone began to move away from the docking array.

“Commander!” I said with a laugh, “we just snaked the Gravestone out from under Vaylin’s nose.”

“Good!” she told me, “I’m heading for Aries’ control room right now, should be able to finish this soon.”

I was about to say more when Eternal Fleet ships turned their guns on Aries’ base.

“Eternal Fleet warships bombarding your position, I’ll try and draw their fire, but you need to end this quick.”

“Forget about me, Theron,” she said, “the Alliance can’t lose the Gravestone.”

“And I can’t lose you!” I snapped as the Gravestone streaked past the Eternal Fleet formation. “Koth, we need to shake some of those ships loose, now!”

“I got a couple tricks,” he replied taking the controls.

I just prayed he was right…

* * *

 

“The shield is down!” Lana said, “The Commander did it!”

“You had doubts,” I asked her from the co-pilot’s seat.

“No, of course not, but… I suppose I should be used to her doing the impossible.”

“Yeah, you should,” I told her as I switched over the com to Aryelle’s frequency. “We’ve got four boogies on us, Commander so we’re coming in hot. Going to need to time this one just right.”

“Copy that, Theron. We’ll be waiting.”

It a hell of a feat of piloting, and it certainly wasn’t something I’d want to try with a frigate sized ship, but Gravestone pulled smoothly along the edge of the rooftop, presenting her open landing bay.

“We’re aboard, but the weapon’s capacitors are going to blow any second,” Aryelle said over the intercom.

“We don’t have time to escape Iokath!” I yelled back.

“Then just punch it!”

Koth shoved the lever forward and we jumped to hyperspace just as the explosion reached us.

“You guys okay down there?” I asked.

“Torian and I are fine,” Vette said, “but the Commander sprained that ankle again. I’m helping her to med bay.”

“Make sure she stays put, will you, Vette?” I asked the Twi’lek girl.  

“You do know who we’re talking about right?” she said to me, “You really expect me to keep the Commander from leaving if she wants to?”

“Toss her in a kolto tank and give her enough sedative to put out a bantha if you have to,” I growled and shut the link before I said more. Now that Aryelle was safe, the anger I’d stomped on when she told me to leave her behind bubbled to the surface. We needed to talk about that, but not on the Gravestone. If we were going to have this conversation, we’d have it at home. I just needed to hold onto my temper until then.


	3. No Compromises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning from Iokath, Theron makes it clear to Aryelle there are some things he won’t compromise on, especially when it comes to her.

_Theron Shan_

It was well into the evening before I got back to our quarters. I’d been too busy with a backlog of work to brood much about what happened at Iokath, which was probably a good thing. But Aryelle should have known better than to try and order me to leave her behind, especially after everything that’s happened between us. We still needed to have a conversation about that.

 Ary was laying on the couch, reading through a datapad, when I walked in. She looked up and started to smile. Then she saw the look on my face.

“We need to talk,” I said, keeping my voice even as I stripped off my gloves and jacket.

She sighed and stood up. “Theron…”

I shook my head, “No, you don’t get to ‘Theron’ me. Not on this, Aryelle,” I said as I walked over to her. “Don’t you ever try to order me to leave you behind again, am I clear?”

She was silent for a moment then said, “It was the right call, Theron.”

“No. The right call was getting you, Torian, and Vette out of there before the whole fortress came crashing down,” I told her even as I slipped an arm around her waist. “The Alliance would survive the _Gravestone_ getting beaten up. It wouldn’t survive losing you.” I hugged her tightly to me and said quietly:

“Neither would I.”

Maybe it was because I was angry at her for even thinking I’d leave her there. Or maybe it was the fact that we’d had so many close calls lately. I don’t know. All I knew was that I needed Aryelle _now_ , and I wasn’t in the mood to be gentle.

I kissed her hard, backing her into the wall. She gasped as her arms went around my waist, and my free hand cupped the back of her head. When we broke I whispered in her ear, “Same rules, Ary. Tell me to stop, and I will, I promise.”

She traced her fingers along my implant, her eyes locked on mine. “Don’t stop, Theron. Please don’t stop.”

My hand slid down from the back of her neck to strip off her tunic and bra as she clawed off my shirt. I could feel her emotions so easily now: need, hunger, lust… Love.

It was almost too much as we stumbled back toward the couch. I pulled her down on top of me so we were only centimeters apart.

“Tell me what you want, Ary.”

“You. Now. Like this…” she said as she reached down, sliding her hand under the waistband of my pants. Her fingers curled around me tight, and I gasped. Seems _she_ wasn’t in the mood to be gentle either.

The thought made me smile as I undid the fasteners on her pants, stripping them and her underwear off so she was nude above me. I slid a finger into her, then another, feeling how hot she was… how tight. In and out, I teased her just as hard as she was teasing me.

She ground herself against my palm as I thrust my hips in time with her strokes.

“Yes… More, Theron…need more…”

I added a third finger as I drove into her harder, and I felt her muscles tense. I could _feel_ how close she was, what it would take to send her over the edge. I pulled her down to me, closing my lips around her left nipple as I began to suck.

“Theron!”

I just kept going even as she teased me, playing out her climax for as long as I could. Finally, we broke apart; Aryelle leaning back to look at me.

“Need to stop?” I asked, suddenly feeling a little unsure.

“Just catching my breath,” she told me with a smile as she reached to pull off the last of my clothes, “I’m not done with you yet.”

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing.” I replied, relieved, and pulled her down into a kiss.

She moaned as she guided me inside her. I thrust in deep and she arched against me, her mouth moving down my neck to the hollow of my throat and back up to nuzzle behind my ear. I rested one hand on her hip as the other traced the lines of her body. We moved together, so in synch, so very good.

“Theron… I’m close again, please… One last time.”

I drove in harder as she tried to match me. I could feel her control slip, and as she shattered I let go, losing myself in her…

I opened my eyes as I came back down and found Aryelle watching me carefully.

 “What is it?” I asked.

“About before…”

“Aryelle, there are a lot of things I’m willing to compromise on, but not this,” I told her as I brushed my fingers along her cheek, “I will _never_ leave you behind.”

She swallowed, “someday you may have to.”

I shook my head, “No compromises.”

Aryelle was quiet for several moments. “No compromises,” she said finally.

“Good.”


End file.
